Justice boss criticized over transport chief’s case
June 13, 2011
MANILA — A group of public transport owners and drivers criticized Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for her alleged inaction on the fate of Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Virginia Torres.
Zenaida Maranan, president of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap) said the Justice chief should not have abdicated her responsibility to Malacañang.
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Maranan said it was a flimsy excuse on de Lima’s part to say it is not within her jurisdiction to sanction Torres because the LTO chief is a presidential appointee and only the President can decide on her fate.
“She may be the President’s appointee, but since she did not resign she is still subject to normal administrative procedure. The leniency treatment given to Torres sent a wrong signal in the transport industry,” Maranan said.
Torres is expected to return to work on June 18 after her 60-day leave.
De Lima said she is leaving Torres’s fate to Malacañang because it would be inappropriate for her to compel President Benigno Aquino III to adopt the recommendation of a Department of Justice (DOJ) fact-finding panel that Torres be slapped with a preventive suspension for gross neglect of duty and misconduct.
The DOJ panel looked into Torres’s alleged involvement in the supposed takeover of the office of Stradcom Corp., the LTO’s information technology provider, by one of the factions within the company battling for its control last December that affected the operation of the agency for several hours.
Stradcom has an agreement with LTO to build, operate and maintain all its IT facilities at no cost to the government. In return, the company is entitled to collect payments from the users of its services.
The P2.3-billion contract signed by Stradcom and the LTO in 1998 will end in 2013.
At the same time, Maranan also questioned statements from Malacañang that Torres has been sanctioned by the President with a 60-day leave of absence, saying that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) say otherwise.
DOTC Undersecretary and former LTO officer-in-charge Raquel Desiderio said Torres cannot return to the LTO simply because Malacañang did not investigate her supposed complicity and gross negligence in the Stradcom affair, as recommended by the DOTC and the DOJ.
DOJ insiders also said the announcements that only the President can sanction Torres have again fueled speculations that de Lima is likewise being pressured by the DOJ report and the corresponding sanctions.
Maranan said the President and incoming DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas should not bring back Torres to the LTO, adding that her return will only led to more problems just like the one that took place last year.
The group also opposed Torres proposal for return to the manual system in the registration of vehicles adding it would compromise the government’s drive against “colorum” or out-of-line vehicles. (AH/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/12/justice-boss-criticized-over-transport-chiefs-case-160799
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